Details on one-year arb contracts for Barmes, Buchholz

DENVER — The Rockies avoided arbitration today with two players they will be counting on heavily next season, second baseman Clint Barmes and reliever Taylor Buchholz.
Barmes more than doubled his salary, coming in at roughly $3.4 million. Buchholz, who missed all of last season with elbow surgery, will make $1.055 million, same as a year ago.
Barmes established a career-high with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs in 2009. The Rockies had extensive discussions with Barmes about a two-year deal with a club option for his first year of free agency. However, those multi-year talks are tabled for now, as they have been already with starter Jorge De La Rosa and closer Huston Street.
“We went through this two-year discussion, and we just couldn’t find common ground. So we turned our attention to a one-year and we fairly quickly determined what we thought fair value would be,’’ said agent Barry Meister of Barmes. “Clint is going to demonstrate why he thinks he’s worth a multi-year offer at the dollars where thinks he belongs.’’
Buchholz is expected to return around June 1, fortifying what should be a strong bullpen. He was one of the National League’s top setupmen in 2008 before injuring his elbow.
Of the Rockies’ remaining arbitration players, three are big-ticket items on their payroll: De La Rosa, who could easily exceed $5.5 million, Street, who figures to be in the $7 million range, and Rafael Bentancourt, who will be south of $5 million. Other arbitration-eligible players include outfielder Ryan Spilborghs and pitcher Jason Hammel.